I don't mean songs that feature mandolin on the recording, I mean things that didn't originally have a mandolin, but sound good played on the mandolin.
What's your favorite?
Unfortunately the quality isn't great and only the tail end was caught, but I'm too proud of this not to post it somewhere. It wasn't super clean and I had a couple mess ups, but I played them off pretty well and I'm happy with it for my first time—plus it’s western music, not bluegrass, so it’s a bit less demanding on the mandolin front.
I’ve been playing the guitar on and off for the last 15 years but I’m mostly self-taught and never really got that far with it. I love to sing so it was more of an accompaniment for my voice.
I’m curious about getting a mandolin and read that the chords are upside down so here’s my question..
I play guitar left-handed. Since the chords are upside down, would it be better for me to get a right handed mandolin? I wish I learned to play guitar right handed because it’s such a pain that I can only ever play my own guitar. So I thought maybe now would be a good time time to switch. But I don’t know if I’ll just confuse myself even more.
Thank you!
I am about to donate this. It belonged to my grandfather and was found in a storage bin many years ago. While I highly doubt it is worth anything and know it is in need of repair, I wanted to check with this community first.
I know this is probably a very subjective topic that has probably been beat to death, but I'm looking for some replacement strings. I have an Eastman MD315? and I am a beginner. As far as string gauge I was thinking about getting my first medium set. I've listened to different recordings of different strings and watched several reviews. The d'addario monels are unique sounding and I kind of like that. The flat wound have a very warm tone which is also nice. The XS sound nice and clear and but still rich. I also liked how the stringjoy foxwoods sounded. I know this is a pretty experimental thing but I can't decide which to try first. Any ideas what would sound good on my mandolin? Also, what is the purpose of the custom string gauges? Thanks.
My father-in-law picked up this mandolin for cheap at an auction, but I don’t really know a lot about the mandolin world. It needs a clean up, but feels playable with some new strings and a little love. I was curious if anyone knew the year, or place of manufacture?
I only have this clip because the phone I had the video in stopped working 🫠
Btw, thanks for the awards on my previous post 🫶🏿
[EDIT: Wow, thanks for all of the responses! I’m gonna follow up with every comment and ask for 1-2 songs, and build a playlist of these so I can delve into the world of the mandolin. If any new commenters would be willing to include a song (no need for a link, name alone will do) it would be much appreciated!]
Hey all! I’m a musician, and I’d like to get back to playing Mandolin again (it was the first instrument i ever self-taught back when I was a teen). Something that always helps me learning instruments is to listen to a variety of styles and usages for the instrument, so I’m seeking some recs.
It’s pretty easy to find true folk/bluegrass uses for mandolin, so I’m hoping for some recs that go beyond that (though I will not decline those either!). I’ve loved Chris Thile’s music since I was a child, and I really enjoy how he uses his mandolin to cover songs from all sorts of genres.
I’m also less interested in artists who occasionally use mandolin for songs here and there (like REM or Lead Zeppelin) — I want to find music with featured mandolins that defy the typical genre
I’m a professional musician, and have been playing guitar for 27 years. I recently decided to learn Mandolin. I bought one used on reverb, and I’m about to dive in. Any tips?
For context I’m leaning towards the folk/world side of mandolin more so than bluegrass, and likely using it on musical theatre gigs down the road once I get comfortable on it. But open to any and all advice!
How does everyone keep their strings? I’m still pretty new. I have 2 mandolins. One I believe was setup fairly well when I bought it. The other I think needs some work. That’s not really my question though.
I was watching the Bill Monroe documentary that’s on Roku(free by the way). I feel like it takes some effort to get good tone even with fingers 1-3. Again I’m new and I know there’s a long way to go. But just watching him play, it seems like he’s barely touching strings. His pinky is flying all over the place and barely pressing down at all. Does it really get that easy?
I decorated my little lady today and I’m just in looove 😍made practice a little more fun today lol
I went to a bluegrass show at a local club tonight and the band was playing through the club’s sound system. The guitar and bass sounded good, and the banjo was able to project pretty well on its own, but the mandolin player was completely lost in the mix and very muddy. Some of it might be the sound system’s fault, but just curious if gigging mandolin players are putting a mic on their amp or just going straight into the board.
Hello. Is this normal to appear on a new mandolin? I haven't had it two weeks. I heard a quiet but distinct crack and found this. Maybe it's a finish crack, I don't know, but you can feel it running your finger over it. The neck doesn't move, seems stable, but if it's indicative of a defect and should go back because it will just get worse I'd like to know. Thanks.
